Review Blog

Feb 13 2017

Shockwave by Peter Jay Black

Urban Outlaws bk 5. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408851517
Peter Jay Black's Urban Outlaws series finishes in a taut
and deadly race; the pace is even more frenetic, with the five
friends pushed to their limits as their health deteriorates from the
effects of by the deadly Medusa virus. Shockwave begins
directly after the volatile ending of Counterstrike;
Hector's men have infiltrated their underground hideout and quickly
set about destroying their home, possessions and equipment. Jack and
Charlie narrowly escape while young Obi is captured.
With each member suffering from the cold-like symptoms of the deadly
virus, they must return to The Facility and search for the antidote.
Hector is one-step ahead of them as they slowly make their way
across London dressed in clothing bank outfits and The Facility is
destroyed by fire. Noble their adult friend's warehouse is torched
as well. As they discuss their circumstances standing near the
London Eye, henchmen from a rival gang capture them and take them to
their headquarters based in an old warehouse. Wheelchair-bound Tayla
is the tough leader of a large gang of children and teenagers
trained to pickpockets and steal goods. Tayla hates the outlaws and
instructs her cronies to kill them. Of course, with some quick
thinking, they talk their way out of the situation, setting up a
heist plan with the promise of a rich reward.
The mission is deadly; the evil Del Sarto family are holding the
whole of London to ransom as they prepare to infiltrate the
waterways of London with the virus. Jack, Charlie, Wren and Slink
jump off bridges, set technological traps, traverse London, survive
being shot, engage in battles, using their resourcefulness and
ingenuity to complete their final mission.
Peter Jay Black keeps up the rapid pace until the very end, life and
death dramas, moral decisions and the interconnection and the
reliance on each other in the face of adversity, make this a grand
series finale.
Rhyllis Bignell